..Large population-based studies of malignant primary osseous spinal neoplasms are lacking and are necessary to have sufficient statistical power to determine if various patient-related factors are in fact significant indicators of prognosis...

..The use of programmable shunt valves has increased dramatically in the practice of pediatric hydrocephalus. Despite theoretical advantages, it remains unclear if the use of programmable vs set-pressure valves affects shunt outcome...

Correlation of a preoperative grading scale with progressive spinal deformity following surgery for intramedullary spinal cord tumors in children

..We report the outcomes of the surgical management of 35 malignant spinal cord astrocytomas and assess the association of extent of resection with survival after aggressive resection of these tumors...

Intraoperative ultrasonography as a guide to patient selection for duraplasty after suboccipital decompression in children with Chiari malformation Type I

..The authors set out to determine whether laminoplasty in comparison with laminectomy has reduced the incidence of subsequent spinal deformity requiring fusion after IMSCT resection at their institution...

..5% of patients, respectively. The goal of this study was to perform a critical analysis of risk factors predictive of an enhanced operative risk in frame-based and frameless stereotactic brain biopsy...

Neurological outcome after resection of intramedullary spinal cord tumors in children

..Various complications of Gliadel wafers have been reported but not consistently reproduced. We set out to characterize Gliadel-associated morbidity in our 10-year experience with Gliadel wafers for treatment of malignant glioma...

..West Valley City, UT) into the tumor resection cavity at the time of surgery would improve the efficacy of surgical resection with or without external beam radiotherapy (XRT) in a rat model of spinal column metastases...

..Hyperglycemia has been shown to augment tumor growth in vitro. However, the effects of persistent hyperglycemia on survival, recurrence and malignant degeneration in patients undergoing surgery for low grade gliomas remain unknown...

Determining the quality and effectiveness of surgical spine care: patient satisfaction is not a valid proxy

..The authors set out to determine the incidence of and the health care costs associated with mechanical back pain attributed to segmental degeneration or instability at the level of a prior discectomy performed at their institution...

Prognostic significance of contrast-enhancing low-grade gliomas in adults and a review of the literature

..The incidence of longitudinally extensive tumors involving the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine is very low (<1% of intramedullary lesions); hence, little literature exists on the management of this entity...

..We reviewed the literature to determine whether outcomes reported after limited discectomy (LD) differed from those reported after aggressive discectomy (AD) with regard to long-term back pain or recurrent disc herniation...

..We describe a technique in which kyphotic deformity of the thoracic and thoracolumbar spine is corrected, decompressed, and stabilized with a circumferential fixation construct from a lone posterior approach...

Assessment of the minimum clinically important difference in pain, disability, and quality of life after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: clinical article

..The effects of lumbar discectomy on pain, disability, and physical quality of life are well described. The effects of discectomy on emotional distress and mental well-being are less well understood...

Cost per quality-adjusted life year gained of laminectomy and extension of instrumented fusion for adjacent-segment disease: defining the value of surgical intervention

..It has been shown to have favorable long-term outcomes, but the cost-effectiveness remains unclear. In this study, the authors set out to assess the cost-effectiveness of revision surgery in the treatment of ASD over a 2-year period...

..The aim of this study was to conduct the first in vitro biomechanical comparison of immediate and postcyclical rigidities of C-7 lateral mass versus C-7 pedicle screws in posterior C4-7 constructs...

..Peak incidence of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) occurs in individuals aged 65 years and older. The goal was to evaluate the efficacy of carmustine wafers in prolonging survival for older GBM patients...

..However, given rising health-care costs, attention has been turned to question the cost-effectiveness of lumbar decompressive procedures. The cost-effectiveness of multilevel hemilaminectomy for radiculopathy remains unclear...

Accuracy of frameless and frame-based image-guided stereotactic brain biopsy in the diagnosis of glioma: comparison of biopsy and open resection specimen

..Few authors have evaluated this procedure, analyzed preoperative predictors of diagnostic yield, or explored the differences in diagnostic yield and morbidity rate between the frameless and frame-based techniques...

..The authors conducted a prospective observational study to determine whether a standardized regimen of simvastatin would reduce the incidence of cerebral vasospasm and improve neurological outcomes in patients with aSAH...

..Few of these reports have included outcomes more than 3 months postsurgery. It remains unclear if VP shunts are an effective long-term treatment of intracranial hypertension in this patient population...

..Although previous research is limited, identifying reliable predictors of functional status after tumor resection would be clinically useful for perioperative modification strategies...

Factors contributing to the medical costs of cerebrospinal fluid shunt infection treatment in pediatric patients with standard shunt components compared with those in patients with antibiotic impregnated components

..To identify potential risk factors, a review of clinical outcomes for sacral tumor resections over the past 5 years at a single institution was completed, paying special attention to procedure-related complications...

..The prognostic value of differentiating between recurrent malignant glioma and a lesion due to radiation effect by performing stereotactic biopsy has not been assessed. Thus, this study was undertaken to determine such value...